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What to Do When You Don’t Get Paid

by Guest Blogger on 03-16-2010 11:24 AM - last edited on 03-16-2010 11:36 AM

In today’s tough economy, there is an unfortunate domino effect in accounts receivable—your customer is late in receiving payment so it becomes a late payer of your invoice; unless you receive payment you could be short of cash needed to pay your bills. If your business routinely bills for goods and services and you’re sitting with accounts receivable that have begun to age, be aware of the practical and legal steps you can take to collect what you’re owed. Read more...

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5 Things to Talk to Your Accountant About

by Guest Blogger on 02-04-2010 10:41 AM

It’s probably a good idea for most business owners to focus on the core of their business, such as selling fishing lures or designing websites, and use experts to help them in financial matters. According to the IRS, more than 80% of small businesses use accountants to prepare their returns, something you may be acutely aware of during tax season. But tax return preparation isn’t the only reason to use an accountant. Here are five areas to discuss with your accountant: Read more...

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Franchising And Technology

by Guest Blogger on 01-21-2010 07:06 AM

New technologies are being developed daily, and a lot of them can be used for business. Read more...

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Forget Competition—it’s Time for Co-opetition

by Guest Blogger on 11-19-2009 03:32 PM - last edited on 11-19-2009 04:02 PM

Instead of competing with other small businesses, savvy entrepreneurs are trying to collaborate. Read more...

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What's Your Business Number?

by Guest Blogger on 11-17-2009 10:59 AM - last edited on 11-18-2009 11:53 AM

Consumers have it easy—they use their Social Security number to file their taxes, open up a bank account, and obtain a credit card. When it comes to businesses, however, things can get complicated; you usually have to use a different number for various purposes. Here are the numbers you may need to obtain for your business. Read more...

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The Better Choice for Entity Selection: LLC or S Corporation?

by Guest Blogger on 10-06-2009 12:40 PM - last edited on 10-06-2009 12:45 PM

Perhaps the most popular form of business entity today is ... Read more...

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8 Tips to Save Big Money on Technology

by Guest Blogger on 09-24-2009 09:37 AM - last edited on 09-24-2009 09:40 AM

Technology can drive costs from your business, help you become more profitable, and allow you to serve more customers without adding additional staff. It can allow business owners to have a better quality of life, instead of working night and day. Technology need not cost an arm and a leg. Here are 8 tips for saving money on technology purchases or by using technology. Read more...

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Get the Customer Service Edge

by Guest Blogger on 09-03-2009 02:33 PM - last edited on 09-03-2009 03:33 PM

Small businesses can compete with big businesses. One way: provide exemplary customer service. Read more...

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Uncle Sam Is Your Silent Partner

by Guest Blogger on 09-01-2009 11:59 AM - last edited on 09-01-2009 12:06 PM

When you’re in business, in addition to any people who have ownership interests in your company, the government—federal, state, and local—is your silent partner. Like all partners, the government wants its share of your profits, which it takes in the form of taxes. But like any good partner, the government may help you in your business. Here are five important ways that your silent partner can provide important assistance to you. Read more...

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Small Business Development Centers: it's no secret

by Guest Blogger on 08-04-2009 08:05 PM - last edited on 08-05-2009 04:50 PM by Administrator

Entrepreneurs are eligible for free and confidential counseling. Read more...

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7 Marketing Tactics That Work in a Recession

by Guest Blogger on 07-30-2009 12:50 PM

Americans have changed the way they think about money, which will have a fundatmental impact on your business. Want to "convince" consumers to spend with you? Read on. Read more...

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Handling Employer Tax Responsibilities

by Guest Blogger on 07-28-2009 12:04 PM - last edited on 07-28-2009 12:11 PM

You cannot grow your business single handedly; you may need to staff up. When you do this, making payroll, avoiding on-the-job problems (e.g., injuries, discrimination, or sexual harassment), and displaying minimum wage posters are the least of your worries. Even if you have only one employee (including yourself), you face a wide array of obligations to your employees, to the IRS, and to your state. Handling these obligations isn’t easy and it’s time consuming, but messing up can cost you in penalties, interest and time. Following the rules can protect you in case of an audit—employment tax audits are coming soon as you’ll see. Here is a brief outline of what you must do to stay compliant. Read more...

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10 Technology Tools You Can't Run Your Small Business Without

by Guest Blogger on 07-16-2009 02:53 AM - last edited on 07-16-2009 11:14 AM by Administrator

The good news is: there's a lot of technology out there that is cost-effective and packs a punch for a small business. The bad news is: there's a lot of technology out there -- making things very confusing. If I had to choose just 10 technology tools to run your business more effectively without spending an arm and a leg, my list would include the following: Read more...

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About The Industry Word
The Industry Word brings together a lineup of notable small business professionals to share their small-business expertise with Community members. The Industry Word is unique in the Business.gov Community as it includes contributions from professionals outside of government. As contributing members of the Community, guest bloggers will cover a range of topics from franchising and marketing, to technology, legal, tax and accounting. All views and opinions expressed on The Industry Word blog are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Business Gateway Program Office, the U.S. Small Business Administration, partner agencies, or the Federal government.
About the Author
  • Steven Roll is a Senior State Tax Law Editor with BNA Tax & Accounting in Arlington, Virginia.
  • Barbara is a respected corporate speaker, contributing editor, author of more than a dozen books from major publishers, sought-after expert media source, newsletter publisher and, more than ever, a trusted advocate for small business owners. Barbara is passionate about helping the small business community and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit. She enjoys serving as a true small business expert, teaching people how to start a business and expand their current enterprises.
  • Bill Gormley is a former senior federal executive. He has held a vast range of government contracting positions from Contract Specialist to Contracting Division Director to Assistant Commissioner of the General Services Administration (GSA). He is recognized by both the federal government and industry for his proven leadership, and is a frequent guest speaker at GSA-sponsored events. With years of hands-on government contracting experience, Bill now provides invaluable advice and insight to clients looking to sell their services and products to the government. You can reach Bill directly at the Washington Management Group (www.washmg.com).
  • Craig is a journalist and consultant based in Washington, D.C. Craig has contributed to a host of publications about technology and media, including the Washington Post and National Journal. His blog is called Municipalist and focuses on use of the Web by government, local and federal, to engage citizens. Craig's home site is craigcolgan.com and his consulting firm is PotomacPlanet, which he operates with his partner and wife Hilary LaMonte.
  • Dawn is an award-winning small business journalist who helps policy makers understand the impact of their work on microbusinesses and helps microbusiness owners to sort through the hype and the spin to find out how events in the larger world will impact their firms.
  • Since 1990, The Libava family has been helping future entrepreneurs with their dreams of business ownership. Joel Libava, Franchise Selection Specialists Inc. 2nd generation President, brings real world franchise industry experience to his clients, coming from a franchise management background in the automobile and restaurant and hospitality industries. Joel shoots from the hip, and you'll find his unique take on the world of franchising refreshing, and sorely needed.
  • Federal Employee - Business Gateway's Financial Manager
  • The NYS Small Business Development Center Research Network has been providing reference services to the advisors of the NYS SBDC and their entrepreneurial clients since 1991. It has five full-time librarians that has . The blog can be found at sbdcrn.blogspot.com The writer of this post, Roger Green, has been at the SBDC since October 1992, after returning to graduate school in midlife. Previously, he worked as a manager of a small business - a comic book store - for eight years. He blogs pretty much daily at rogerowengreen.blogspot.com and elsewhere. He tweets very irregularly as ersie.
  • Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media (www.growbizmedia.com), which helps corporations, government agencies and other organizations identify, understand and connect with SMBs, and provides information, products, services and resources to help SMBs build their businesses. Lesonsky is also an Editor-at-Large for AllBusiness.com, a Contributing Editor for Microsoft Office Live Small Business, and a small-business blogger for The Huffington Post and can be seen regularly on MSNBC's Your Business. Lesonsky has written several books about entrepreneurship and small business. In 2009 she was named to Folio magazine’s annual Folio: 40 list of top influencers in the publishing industry.
  • Anita Campbell is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Small Business Trends, an online publication touching over 250,000 small business owners each month with news, tips, product reviews, book reviews, and trend analyses. Each week she conducts a podcast interview of a small business expert. Anita is a former corporate attorney who loves running online businesses. Her articles appear around the Web on her own publications, as well as a variety of websites where she guest writes. You can also find Anita on Twitter: @smallbiztrends
  • President and founder of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, co-founder of Borland International, author of books including 'the Plan-as-You-Go Business Plan' and '3 Weeks to Startup' (Entrepreneur Press, 2008) and conceptual author of Business Plan Pro. Baby boomer ex-hippie Stanford MBA, married 39 years, father of five.
  • As a Certified Program Planner and the Program Manager for the Manufacturing and Technology Small Business Development Center (MTSBDC) at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) I create, coordinate and promote programs and events to inspire, educate and engage individuals in our region who wish to start or grow a small business. I draw on my background in training and development, multimedia production, organizational management, marketing and communication daily to brand and market the SBDC. The SBDC, MTSBDC & ITAC (International Trade Assistance Center) provide free one-on-one business management counseling to small business owners and low to no cost training. You can also find Tonya on twitter at @TonyaWilson.
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